Nov 12, 2006

Tree Rose Winter Care

Tree roses are lovely accent plants in the garden or in containers. In USDA winter hardiness zone 7 and warmer, your tree rose will probably be fine outdoors this winter. But in zone 6 or colder, your tree rose needs special care to survive the winter.

(If you have regular roses, see my earlier post on Winter Protection for Roses.)

Frost will not hurt it. However, severe cold can damage the graft. And if your plant is in a container, severe cold as well as freeze/thaw cycles can damage the roots. And, depending on the variety of rose, it just plain may not be very cold tolerant. So plan on taking special steps to care for your tree rose this fall.

If it is planted in the ground, you might opt for a version of what is sometimes called the Minnesota Tip. This consists of bending it over horizontally to the ground and burying it in a trench. Then heap mulch over top of that. You may have to cut the roots (on one side only) so you can bend it over flat. Alternatively, you can dig it up and bring it indoors as described next.

If your tree rose is in a container, you can bring the container into a cold but sheltered place such as a shed or garage or unheated basement. The goal here is to keep it dormant while it is in storage, so aim for temperatures above freezing but below 45 degrees. Water just enough to keep the soil from drying out completely. Do not fertilize while it is stored.

In either scenario, hold off on moving or burying your tree rose until the plant has naturally slowed its growth for the season. Wait until late fall and after freezing weather has begun so the rose stops growing. Strip off the foliage. Prune it back to make the protection process easier.

Next spring, once the worst of the cold winter weather is over, bring your rose outside (or dig it up) so it can wake up naturally with the season. Good luck with your tree rose this winter!

MORE FLOWER GARDENS ARTICLES and FLOWER GARDENS BLOGS Copyright 2006 Barbara Martin All Rights Reserved